Tea factories have been urged to consider using renewable energy in order to safe the effects brought by using fired wood to the environment.

Tea factories have been urged to consider using renewable energy in order to safe the effects brought by using fired wood to the environment.

Speaking during close out workshop for ERCHRE project that has been focusing on empowering rural communities and households with renewable energy, Director of the Rain forest Alliance Julius Ng’ang’a said deforestation was a crisis and public health hazard due to continued use of firewood by tea factories.
He said the rain forest Alliance is catalyzing a renewable energy transformation in kenya tea producing regions in an aim to stop deforestation and create a sustainable long term employment for energy entrepreneurs thus improving health outcomes in tea farming communities.
Ng’ang’a said that the project was working on providing no smoke alternatives to firewood.

”We are encouraging the tea factories to continue embracing the use of briquettes as renewable energy to avert the effects brought by use of firewood,”said Ng’ang’a.
He said tea growing regions are the being consumers of firewood and in the programme they targeted to have a reduction of the use of firewood by 30 percent by encouraging the use of renewable energy.

Further Ng’ang’a stated that through the programme already 22 tea factories have adopted the new technology by co-firing firewood by use of brochettes as sources of energy.
The director said also the programme has seen over 30,000 households adopt the use of improved jikos and improved stoves.
He cited adoption of the use of renewable energy has been a challenge because of the high cost of renewable energy facilities that farmers struggle to get.
“Fire wood being readily available many people find it difficult to leave it’s use but we are calling on the government to subside prices of the renewable energy gadgets so that people can access and do away with the use of firewood ,” he said
Elizabeth Njega from KTDA foundation said that KTDA was training the tea extension staff to train the farmers directly on the important of using renewable energy.
“Farmers are the biggest consumers of firewood and KTDA is reaching out the farmers through our extension officers so that they can be trained on important of using renewable energy, ‘she said
She said behavioral change by the farmers on why they should transition from using firewood to using renewable energy has been the major challenge they are facing in the quest to see full use of renewable energy.